Take action against attackers or face consequences, BJP tells Mamata

Describing the attacks on its party activists allegedly by West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress as “acts of terror”, the BJP Saturday warned the Mamata Banerjee government to take action against the perpetrators or face consequences.

A five-member team of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by party vice presidents S.S. Ahluwalia and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi Saturday visited Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district, where over two dozen party workers were injured after they were “fired upon by Trinamool patronised goons”.

The team later met the chief secretary at the secretariat and sought action against the attackers within 24 hours.

Addressing the media later, the delegation said that if action was not taken, then the intervention of the prime minister, home minister and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes will be sought in the matter.

“The attacks are not mere incidents of violence, rather are acts of terror. We have clearly stated to the chief secretary to take action against the attackers and arrest them within 24 hours.

“There is state-sponsored anarchy in Bengal. This government is synonymous with anarchy, violence and arrogance and has been shamelessly using the constitutional organisations for political gains,” said Naqvi.

Party spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi, who had earlier said that the team will submit the report to the prime minister as well as the union home minister, clarified that the report will be submitted to party president Rajnath Singh.

“We will finalise the report and submit it to our party president at the earliest and if the state government does not take action within 24 hours then it will have to face the consequences. We will seek the intervention of the prime minister, the home minister as well as the SC/ST commission,” she said.

Claiming the “state assisted” attacks on BJP workers have continued unabated, Lekhi said: “Even today one of our workers was murdered in Ketugram (Burdwan district). The attacks on our people are taking place across Bengal and there is a clear pattern of state-assisted violence.”

Even women and children are not being spared, she alleged.

Ahluwalia attributed Trinamool’s apprehension of a defeat in the 2016 assembly polls behind the attacks.

“The BJP has registered thumping victories across the country but except for Bengal there has been no report of any such violence in the country. The Trinamool has realised that it will be defeated in the assembly polls so it has unleashed violence on us,” said Ahluwalia, who won the Darjeeling parliamentary seat in the polls.

Party’s Bengal co-in-charge Siddharth Nath Singh, also a part of the delegation, said the chief secretary has assured them of action.

“He has assured action, and if the state government fails to do its duty then we will do whatever is required. We will not allow West Bengal to become ‘Waste’ Bengal,” he said.

Concerned over the growing number of attacks on its party workers in Bengal, BJP general secretary Jagat Prakash Nadda Thursday named the five-member team to visit the state.